In reality, humans are simple creatures. Meet a few basic needs, and we are contented little things, bless us. Even children- the crafty wee beggars that they are- can be tricked into happiness one way or the other. The great thing about Aliens in the Attic is that creator John Schultz seems well aware of what will please the average kid, and isn’t afraid to pull out all the stops for their approval. For a start, all the adults in this film are utterly useless. Kids rule OK. Excellent.

The story unfolds thusly; 4 cute-but-dangerous aliens land on Earth, intent on recovering a device that will signal the beginning of an all out alien invasion. The device is hidden cunningly in the basement of a holiday home belonging to a family of young scamps.  And thank God it is. The aliens masterfully take out any pesky adults who stand in the way using electrical darts shot into the necks of the victims.  These devices- coincidentally -have no effect on children. So who has to save the Universe before bedtime? You guessed it. The scamps! Cute schmooshy faced kids, and that blonde one from High School Musical. Hurrah!

Every kid in-joke in existence is brought out with aplomb, a lot of the time making the grownups feel like they’re missing something. Which of course they are. Seeing as they are stupid grownups who probably wouldn’t get it anyway. One sequence in particular comes to mind, where the aliens temporarily tamper with the laws of physics. “They turned off the gravity, like in Halo”; shrieks Lee; one of the young boys, as the kids float around helplessly the upper floor of the house. “This isn’t X-Box,” counters his brother, “it’s real… like Wii”. We’re probably too busy falling over our own stupid big adult feet to have any idea what that means.

The action is fast-paced, colourful and exuberant- the special effects may not be quite on a par with Pixar but they are more than enough to hold the attention of its target audience. The nice thing about this film is that it seems to embrace all that is kid-like, and find a real joy in its silliness. The morality lessons are fairly standard; a family overcoming its differences, a young underdog rising to the challenge of a lifetime etc etc, but the real fun of this film is in its carefree lack of pretentiousness. The idea that kids can save the world with weapons they find in their own house has the same lure that Home Alone had back in the 80s. As we said, kids are simple. 20 years ago to 20 minutes ago, they just want to rule supreme. And if the grownups learn anything in the process, well, good for them.

Special Features

Introduction to Film with Ashley Tisdale
Introduction to Special Features with Ashley Tisdale
Alternate Ending
Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes
Behind the Zirkonians
Meet the Zirkonians
The Ashley Encounters
Kung Fu Grandma